McDavid, Oilers hold off Blues to stay hot

EDMONTON -- Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist for the Edmonton Oilers in a 4-2 win against the St. Louis Blues at Rogers Place on Saturday.

Leon Draisaitl had two assists, and Zach Hyman scored his third goal in two games since returning from an undisclosed injury for the Oilers (15-10-2), who have won five of their past six. Stuart Skinner made 29 saves.

“St. Louis is a good team, they’ve got some amazing players that know how to find guys, and they’ve got a lot of speed too,” Skinner said. “So, they were able to catch us a couple times a little bit too often in the slot than we’d probably like, but at the same time, it’s a good hockey club over there that knows how to make plays.

“Being able to snuff it out, especially in the third period, I think is a really good tell of our maturity level.”

Dylan Holloway scored against his former team, and Jake Neighbours also scored for the Blues (13-13-2), who came in with a five-game point streak (4-0-1). Jordan Binnington made 17 saves.

“It felt different. It’s definitely a different experience when you go up against your former team,” Holloway said. “I built some good relationships with the guys and the staff and everybody in Oil Country. It was definitely a little different, but at the same time, it was exciting and I just wish we got the ‘W’ tonight.”

Corey Perry put Edmonton ahead 1-0 at 12:25 of the first period, redirecting a pass in front from Darnell Nurse past the right pad of Binnington.

McDavid extended the lead to 2-0 at 5:19 of the second period. Former Edmonton defenseman Philip Broberg tried to pass the puck from behind his own net, but it bounced off of St. Louis defenseman Colton Parayko and onto the stick of McDavid in the slot, where he scored through the five-hole.

Broberg and Holloway were facing Edmonton for the first time for the first time since St. Louis signed each restricted free agent to an offer sheet Aug. 13 that the Oilers decided not to match. Broberg signed a two-year, $9.16 million contract ($4.58 million average annual value); Holloway signed a two-year, $4.58 million contract ($2.29 million AAV).

“I thought he (Holloway) was one of our better players tonight and I thought Broberg handled himself really well too,” Blues coach Jim Montgomery said. “He’s poised, he’s making plays, he’s killing plays, he’s playing over 25 minutes a night right now.

“Both of those young men coming into a passionate fan base like the Oilers are, and getting booed, they expected it and I thought they handled it well.”

Hyman made it 3-0 on the power play at 14:36 after McDavid brought the puck into the left face-off circle and found him at the right side of the crease for a tap-in.

Holloway cut it to 3-1 at 5:02 of the third period, scoring from the slot on a one-timer off Robert Thomas’ backhand feed from below the goal line.

Neighbours made it 3-2 on the power play at 13:09 when Jordan Kyrou’s wrist shot deflected off him in front.

“We were connected and emotionally involved. We believed we could crawl our way back in the game,” Neighbours said. “I thought the first 15 minutes of the first were really good, and in the last five they kind of woke up and brought it to us a little bit. And then in the second, we were a little flat and then had a good third.

“I didn’t hate the effort, but we have to put together 60 minutes if we want to beat a good hockey team like that.”

Troy Stecher made it a 4-2 final at 14:18 with his first goal as a member of the Oilers. He scored with a wrist shot from along the right boards that snuck past Binnington.

“It feels good. I am obviously not known for that, it is not part of my game during my career,” said Stecher, who had gone 64 games without a goal, last scoring Nov. 11, 2023, for the Arizona Coyotes. “But in saying that, you work every day in practice and through the game to try and contribute and help out.

“I am just happy it went in. It ended up being a big goal. They had all of the momentum and had made it a 3-2 game, so it kind of gave us some cushion. I am just happy to help this group win a game.”

NOTES: McDavid got his 123rd assist of 2024 (regular season and Stanley Cup Playoffs) to tie Mario Lemieux’s highest total in a calendar year (1992). The only player to have more in a calendar year is Wayne Gretzky, who did so nine times (the most was 167 in 1985). ... Thomas extended his point streak to three games (two goals, four assists) ... Holloway ran his point streak to six games (five goals, four assists).